Special to the Item
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
Born to Sheila and Stanley Wilson of Picayune, Miss., Steven D. Wilson learned at an early age that service was the key to success. Mentored by Elder David Simmons at the Rose of Sharon Church of God in Christ, he was heavily involved in the youth and outreach ministries.
Attending both Nicholson and Roseland Park Elementary schools, Steven made history becoming one of the city’s first African American males to hold the title of Student Council President at the elementary, junior and eventually conquering the high school level as his family moved to Montgomery, Ala.
Steven captures the hearts of those he meets. With his soothing voice and electric personality, Steven is well on his way to becoming a world class entertainer.
He now resides in Birmingham, Ala. where he attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a focus on health and social sciences. Subsequently, Steven found his sure footing by making a name for himself as a lead vocalist for the university’s gospel choir of the same name. The UAB Gospel Choir.
Steven is featured on the UAB Gospel Choir’s last three projects including a short film which has collectively gathered more than one million hits on the social media site youtube.com. He is also included in footage from the live performance on NBC Today Show with Al Roker with over five million viewers.
Wilson is proud to announce his personal project currently in production that will be available for support by late fall of 2013. It is his debut inspirational project — a mix of contemporary soul stirring tracks as well as a burst of gospel jubilee.
The choir is on one of its final tours under the direction of one of gospel music’s trailblazers Kevin P. Turner.
The group will be touring some of the devastated areas affected by natural disasters in the Southern Gulf Coast and hoping to bring some relief to those who are still hurting by the aftermath.
Local concert schedule includes:
— Sunday, October 14, 10:30 a.m., Greater New Life Apostolic Faith Church, 103 Wisteria Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39401
— Sunday, October 14 - 5 p.m., Rose of Sharon Church of God In Christ, 500 North Beech Street, Picayune, MS 39466.
About the UAB Gospel Choir
Since its inception in 1995, the UAB Gospel Choir has brought American Gospel Music from the choir stand to the classroom at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and developed a powerhouse strategy of turning out above-average talent and presenting sold-out concerts. This recording and touring ensemble has an arsenal of 135 voices, dance & mime teams, and four nationally distributed CD recordings (Live, Lessons for Life, Gospel 101: Go Dominate and MIRRORS) heard throughout the USA and abroad. Gospelflava.com recently named its director Kevin Paul Turner, “a Modern-day Godfather of College Gospel Choirs.” Youtube.com documents their international fan base with over 1.5 million combined hits. Equally important to mention, its own university celebrates the UAB Gospel Choir as a Top Breakthrough Story in its 40-year history!
This ensemble has mounted the stage with industry heavy hitters to include: Stevie Wonder, Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, Lee Greenwood, Daryl Coley, Vanessa Bell Armstrong and opened for headliners throughout the southeast — this list includes The Clark Sisters, Tonex, J. Moss, Karen Clark Sheard, Fred Hammond and Kirk Franklin.
They were featured in the filming of a documentary produced by Dr. Henry Louis Gates — Harvard’s chair of Afro-American Studies, “Black America in the 21st Century, Journey through the South.” The show continues to be aired on PBS in the USA and the BBC in Great Britain. Its critically acclaimed Gospel Anthology DVD (a concert & “live” theatrical production) is part of the multi-cultural curriculum in more than 100 schools. Gospel Anthology II: The Church & The Civil Rights Movement is now in public and university libraries. The UAB Gospel Choir and its director has been the feature story in Southern Living magazine, the 40th Anniversary Edition of UAB Magazine and WOW Magazine. In 2011, this group performed on NBC’s The Today Show with Al Roker and sang live to 5.5 million viewers.
The UAB Gospel Choir continues to have its feet firmly planted in the gospel genre — this is demanded by its founding director Kevin P. Turner who is a well-respected veteran in performing arts and academic circles.
Kevin P. Turner and the UAB Gospel Choir has hosted master classes with singers, professional musicians and ensembles from Switzerland, Germany, the West Indies, Israel, Amsterdam the Netherlands and traveled to London, England and the Netherlands to share its music overseas for the first time in May of 2011. The choir will tour the U.S. Virgin Islands in May 2013.
The UAB Department of Music is home to numerous world-renown scholars and performers. The UAB Gospel Choir is honored to be included among such an impressive roster that has distinguished itself as one of the finest centers for educating young musicians in the southeast.
